Katekyo Hitman Reborn: The Retelling
by ColinatorGX
Summary: Re-read KHR from the beggining, as Reborn teaches Tsuna to be a good mafia boss, only this time, his old friend Yoshida Akio is here to help him on the journey. May include Tsuna x Kyoko and other pairings later on. I do not own KHR.
1. Target 1: Yoshida Akio

Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn: The retelling!

I can't believe I'm actually writing this. I had this idea on my mind for a while, but never got the disposition to write it. I guess I just wanted to relief myself a bit before school exam season started again. =)

Like the title says, this story is a retelling of KHR with my OC, which I partially based off myself. I'm not yet sure if I'll put any couples here, but if I do, I will go for Tsuna x Kyoko. And maybe an OC x OC. MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH! I am so evil! Caboose, please announce the disclaimer.

Caboose – Ok, I will say the dis-dir-…I mean dlicaismer. ColinatorGX is not the one who owns KHR… the very fantastic Amano Akira does. What does the K stand for, by the way?

Kateikyoushi. And don't pretend you can spell disclaimer.

Caboose – Ohhh…What do the H and the R…

Hitman Reborn, Caboose.

Caboose – What does the K stand for again?

Sigh I want to die.

**Target 1: ****Yoshida Akio**

A blue alarm clock ringed in a room somewhere in Naminori, waking up the resident of said room, which unconsciously grabbed it and threw it against the wall. That act did not stop the clock from ringing, and he had no choice but to turn it off.

He lazily rose from his bed, with black and red sheets, and stood up. He walked to where the alarm clock was, still ringing, and shut it off. He carefully replaced it in its usual location, the table besides his bed, and opened the window to let the sunlight enter before he got dressed in the Naminori Junior High School uniform which had the name 'Yoshida Akio' sewed inside.

It was already quite late, and Akio had to hurry up, so he skipped breakfast and went directly to the bathroom. He washed his face and teeth and composed the confusion that was his hair to be presentable. He looked at the mirror. Akio had short messy black hair and sharp dark eyes, covered by discrete glasses with rectangular lens. He was also relatively tall, measuring about 170 centimeters of height.

"Tch, no time to eat breakfast, I better get going."

He walked down the stairs and turned towards the kitchen, to say good morning and goodbye to his mother.

"Ohayo gozaimazu, oka-san." his mother turned to his direction and complimented him.

"Ah. Ohayo, Akio. Care to eat some breakfast?"

"No thank you, I'm quite late now actually. I'll eat something on my way." He grabbed a toast from the table and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Are you sure? Your health is more important than school, you should eat breakfast. It's the day's most important meal." She smiled. Akio's mother, Yoshida Shino, was a very sweet and tolerant person that liked to suffocate him with kindness. Same with his father, Yoshida Kazuto, but he had a more mischievous side to him, something that Akio had inherited. Unfortunately, he now was away in a business trip. He swallowed the toast before answering. He also had an older brother, that was studying at colleage.

"Yeah, I can manage. Bye!" he waved goodbye to his mother and walked out of the.

"Have a safe trip!" he smiled at her trough the window and started walking in the direction of school.

While walking there, he started pondering about what he would research about later that night. He was a curious person, and he knew things of many different subjects due to his researching of themes he found interesting in the internet after studying in a need to make his life less trivial. So much knowledge would bring him somewhere one of these days.

Last night he had been researching about mafia. The amount of information was enormous, and only made him more interested about it. He had even discovered some sites that spoke of a famous Italian mafia family know as the Vongola. According to the article he found in a blog, they were very powerful and cunning, yet cared for the members of their _familia_ in a way a real family would. Those ideas of bonding and camaraderie inspired him.

"_I could join a mafia family."_ He thought to himself. But no, even if he wanted his life to change a bit, that would be too much, and too unreal to become true.

He slowed his steps when he noticed he was near the Sawada household. Here lived one of his best friends, Sawada Tsunayoshi, better known to many as 'Tsuna'. His house was in his way to school, so they oftenly went together. They had met for the first time some years ago, at the wedding of a friend of both their fathers and befriended each other.

He thought of Tsuna as a very funny person, and a good friend, even though he wasn't very reliable. His marks where poor and he didn't do too well on Physical Education either. Akio couldn't blame him, since no one encouraged him to do better, instead mocking him, resulting in his lack of confidence and dedication. Akio had such similar problems. He believed school to be too plain, and he couldn't dedicate himself to it fully, yet still managed to get good marks. He sometimes even found himself tutoring Tsuna.

On his way, he saw the girl know as Sasagawa Kyoko, Tsuna's crush. If Tsuna was here he would have probably hidden, due to embarrassment from simply seeing her. Akio wondered when he was going to confess. He kept walking, and just needed to turn left in order to reach the Sawada residence.

However, when he was about to turn, a blur of orange ran past him at a very high speed, lifting smoke in the street. He coughed loudly and managed to get a glimpse of what just ran past him after the smoke cleared. It was Tsuna. He was only in his boxers, and Akio faintly heard him scream something among the lines of 'telling Sasagawa Kyoko how I feel with my dying will'. However, that Tsuna had an aura of determination which Akio had never seen before, and unlike him. He turned his head to the left, where he saw an infant across the street, wearing a black suit complete with a hat where a chameleon sat, which made him look like a hitman. The infant also had a pacifier around his neck.

"It's dying will time." The infant smiled as he said that. Akio finally started to wonder what was going on, and he started to run after Tsuna, a smirk forming in his face.

"_I don't know what's going on… but this is interesting!"_

Wow, I feel much fresher now that I've written that. Just so you guys who've read my other story know, I haven't forgotten about Zero no Tsukaima, and I'll be back to it by Easter. Of course I'll also write more of this fanfic.

Please review and tell me what you think of my ideas. =)

Bye!


	2. Target 2: Dying Will Bullet

Katekyo Hitman Reborn: The retelling!

**Heya guys. Here you have it, the second chapter of my KHR fanfic. I don't have much to say ****here except for the fact that I've been having lots of fun this Summer, and I am deeply sorry for only posting this now. Also, sorry for the late update and any possible spelling and grammatical errors.**

**This time around, I've asked Simmons to say the disclaimer.**** Go on.**

**Simmons: ColinatorGX does not own the anime and manga series Katekyo Hitman Reborn in any possible way or form. ColinatorGX only owns the plot of this story and any OCs that appear in it.**

**Why thank you Simmons.**

**Simmons: Ah, no problem.**

**Grif: Hey Simmons, you forgot to say he also doesn't own Red VS Blue!**

**Sarge: An excellent analysis, Simmons. You would make a great leader.**

**Grif: Simmons?! I was the one to point it out!**

**Simmons: Thank you very much for that compliment, sir!**

**Grif: You kiss-ass.**

**I said it once and ill say it again. Kill. Me. sigh**

_Target 2: Dying Will Bullet_

Akio ran down the road frantically, doing his best to keep up with Tsuna, while still not believing how fast he was running. Every second, he doubted more if that was really him. Tsuna was never a fast runner, he wouldn't be bold enough to run in the streets in his underwear, and the way he looked was almost as if his soul was burning with determination. Summing things up, it was weird. But weird meant unusual, and Akio liked unusual.

The one detail that was bugging him the most was the flame in Tsuna's forehead burning with a primal strength.

"What is that flame, anyway?" he asked himself.

"That's the dying will flame." said a familiar tiny voice.

Akio looked up his shoulder and was surprised to find the infant he had seen before standing on it with a satisfied look on his face.

_Dying will flame…__didn't this kid say something similar before?_ he thought, with growing curiosity.

Akio planned to ask for more details, determined to get to the bottom of the question. However, when he was about to speak he heard a loud noise and looked ahead to see Tsuna getting thrown out the road to below from the impact of colliding with the bike of an old man.

"Tsuna!" he screamed.

He ran to the railing and managed to see Tsuna falling down the hill. During the fall, he broke through an iron fence ending up in another street below. The whole situation was very confusing to him by now, and he should've questioned the infant riding his shoulder about the details before doing anything else, but there were other priorities.

At the moment it was more important checking if Tsuna had gotten hurt. This was quite possible considering the height he fell from. Worried, Akio slid down the hill the direction Tsuna fell, passing the railing, and jumped to the road through the hole in the fence, only to find a rather… awkward scene in front of him.

Tsuna was standing in his near-naked getup in front of Sasagawa Kyoko, with another guy lying in the floor which Akio recognized as Mochida, their sempai and captain of the Kendo Club of their School. Akio was about to ask the person directly involved, Tsuna, what the hell was going on when said individual screamed a confession with a burning passion in his voice to the girl.

"Sasagawa Kyoko! Please go out with me!"

Kyoko's first reaction was to scream in embarrassment, and likely horror, from the way Tsuna was dressed (or in this case, from lack of proper dressing) and start running away. Akio wondered what Tsuna was expecting from this, doing it in these circumstances. The reaction of the poor girl was no surprise to him. He heard his senpai call for Kyoko and get up, walking in Tsuna's direction.

"You bastard!" he hit Tsuna with an uppercut that sent him flying and ran off after Kyoko hurriedly.

"You've got to be kidding! You hentai!" he added before he took off.

Tsuna clutched his chin in pain as the flame in his forehead died out and he seemed to finally understand what he had been doing. Akio snapped out of his confused state and hurried to Tsuna's side.

"Tsuna! Hey, are you ok?" Tsuna turned around to face Akio, with a nervous face.

"Akio! Wha-what happened to me? I don't believe I just confessed to Sasagawa Kyoko! And now she thinks I'm a pervert!" Tsuna was starting to freak out on him, and Akio didn't like it. Well, he had an excuse. Who wouldn't freak out in that sort of situation?

"Tsuna, calm down! I don't know what happened. I saw you running like a madman and came after you." Akio knelt and grabbed Tsuna's arms to try to calm him down. Their conversation was however interrupted by a small, but firm voice.

"That was the Dying Will Bullet. Its effect only lasts 5 minutes. After that time, you return to normal." Tsuna yelped at the infant's sudden appearance. Akio had completely forgotten about him in the midst of the confusion. Tsuna looked ready to say something when he sneezed and threw something out of his nose. Akio approached to see what it had been and was confused to see a bullet. Tsuna seemed to be much more affected than him though.

"A bullet?! So I was shot in the head!!" he exclaimed.

"Yes." replied the baby as if it were nothing.

"Wait a second, I don't understand, will you please explain what's going on here before I go insane?" Akio interrupted them, not able to hold himself anymore. Both stared at him before the small kid in mafia wear started speaking.

"Ok then. Listen carefully, both of you." he started. "This bullet" – he continued, taking the bullet that was in Tsuna's hands - "Is the Dying Will Bullet, like I've said before. A person that is shot with it will resurrect with dying will after dying."

"What?!" exclaimed Tsuna. The situation was starting to make sense to Akio. This bullet was the reason Tsuna had been burning with power before. But something like that wasn't even supposed to exist. And how did it work? His doubts were cleared seconds later.

"Your dying will is based on what you are regretting when you die. Being killed by this bullet while regretting something will make you come back with a will to fulfill you're dying wish and leave no regrets." The infant concluded with a smile.

"Wait… so if I wasn't regretting anything…" Tsuna's eyes widened in shock as he realized what could've happened to him.

Akio realized the obvious truth within a moment's thought. He hit his palm with his fist and calmly pointed it out.

"I see. Tsuna would've died."

"I am an assassin after all." The baby said in order to justify his act.

"Don't you two just say those things so bluntly!" Tsuna exclaimed, obviously concerned.

"So, who are you anyway?" asked Akio, ("You're ignoring me?!" screamed Tsuna) continuing his conversation with the small individual.

"I'm Reborn, a hitman." Reborn then gestured towards the chameleon in his fedora. "And this here is Leon."

Akio was stunned speechless for a nano-second, attempting to register the twofold shock he had just received. He had actually met a self-proclaimed hitman, and on top of that, he was an _infant_. He didn't know what to think. A normal person would just dismiss the baby's sentences, believing him to be joking and leave him be. But Tsuna's recent display and the way Reborn acted told him otherwise. And Akio wasn't just a normal and plain person. Abandoning all logic, he decided to go with the flow.

"You're part of the mafia then, eh? I'm Yoshida Akio, nice to meet you!" he said energically and extended his hand for Reborn to shake it, completely ignoring the fact that he was chatting with an assassin. Reborn smirked and shook his welcoming hand.

"Why are you just talking to him like you don't have a care in the world?" said Tsuna.

Akio finally turned his limited attention span to Tsuna, examining his reaction. He moved closer to him and reassured him with a hand in his shoulder.

"Don't be so harsh Tsuna. I just want to hear this guy's intentions. Oh, but before that, you might want us to move this conversation somewhere else." Tsuna stared at Akio in confusion before becoming conscious of his current state.

"How-how embarrassing…" he said, trying to cover himself from the odd looks the passing people were giving him.

_Tsuna's house_

Akio sighed and rubbed his temples. Things were not going as he expected.

After relocating themselves to Tsuna's house, Akio had all the intent to get to the bottom of Reborn's agenda. However...Tsuna's loud bickering with the small assassin prevented him from pursuing the matter any further for some time.

"What did you do?! I can't walk on the streets anymore! And I can't confront Sasagawa Kyoko. I had no intention of confessing either!" Tsuna shouted, now in a change of clothes.

"You mean you wanted to but couldn't, right?" questioned the infant, while sporting a mocking look.

"Sh-Shut up!" exclaimed Tsuna. He pinched Reborn's cheeks, who responded by throwing him at the floor. Akio couldn't help but smile a bit at seeing his friend getting thrown to the floor so easily before proceeding to help him up.

"I'm going to go sleep now." declared Reborn.

"Owwwww, it hurts… but I was fine when the bike hit me." said Tsuna, in obvious suffering.

"That's because you had the dying will at that time."

"You mean the dying will temporarily allowed his body to ignore its limitations?" questioned Akio, as he saw a chance to give continuity to his previous conversation with the hitman. He was finally starting to understand how the bullet worked.

"Exactly. Dying will means your body is in a state wherein all safety switches are off. In order to break your limits you must risk your life, but in exchange, you're able to harness amazing strengths."

"I get it, that's potential strength!!" said Tsuna, appearing to finally understand, before he started shouting in discontent again. "Of course I don't get it! I've never even heard of a dying will bullet!"

"The dying will bullet is a specialty passed through the Vongola family." stated Reborn.

Akio's eyes widened at hearing the name of the infamous Vongola family, supposedly the most powerful Italian mafia family.

"Vongola?! As in _the_ Vongola Family? The strongest and most well-known mafia family?" he asked.

"Exactly. I was assigned by the Vongola Family's Ninth Boss to come to Japan and raise Tsuna to become a mafia boss. You're well informed." said Reborn, with a small smile painted in his face.

Something inside of Akio clicked in that moment. Not only he'd met a live hitman, but he was associated with the Vongola. He wondered in what kind of amazing situation he'd gotten himself into when he decided to run after Tsuna earlier on.

"Wait a minute Akio, how do you even know who this Vongola Family is?" asked Tsuna, blowing Akio away from his thoughts.

"Hun? Ah, that's… I was just looking trough some blogs about the mafia and found some information on them! Ironic how I just stumbled across it, right?" he said, laughing nervously while diverting his eyes away from Tsuna. He did not seem convinced by Akio's explanation.

"Akio… did you hack into some secure network again?" asked Tsuna, the colors leaving his face.

"Of course not! How could it even cross your mind, that naïve old me here would do such an outrageous thing?" he answered, the sarcasm and false drama apparent in his voice. Sometimes Tsuna wondered if Akio did it on purpose or sarcasm was the only language he knew.

Akio was prompted to change the subject because of Tsuna's suspicious gaze on him, and returned to talking with the assassin that laid forgotten in the room.

"So, Reborn, why were you asked to come to make Tsuna into a mafia boss now?" Reborn looked amused for a moment and resumed his explanation.

"The Ninth Vongola is getting old and he was planning to pass the boss status to the tenth generation." Tsuna was staring with disbelief at Reborn by this point, despite having no other choice but to believe, having in account the recent events. The infant resumed his speech. "But the most qualified of the tenth generation, Enrico, was shot in a feud. The young number two, Matsumo, was drowned. And the favorite child Federico was reduced to bone." he said while showing gruesome pictures of each of the corpses, earning several yelps and screams from Tsuna.

"So the only candidate left to become the Tenth is you." he finished, directing himself to Tsuna.

"Wha?! Why is it like that?!" asked Tsuna growing more alarmed by the second.

"The Vongola Family's first boss retired early and came to Japan. That is your great great great grandfather. So, you are a part of the Vongola bloodline and a legitimate boss candidate."

"What are you talking about? I've never heard this."

"Tsuna, I don't think you'd usually just tell someone that their family is related to the mafia." interrupted Akio, with a half-sarcastic, half-obvious tone.

"Don't worry Tsuna, I'll make you into a fine mafia boss." reassured Reborn, while changing into his pajamas.

"Don't be ridiculous! There's no way I'll ever do it!" screamed Tsuna again. All the noise was giving Akio a headache.

"I'm going to sleep now. Interrupt my sleep and you'll die." said Reborn, paying no heed to his supposed student's complaints.

Tsuna saw the infant had rigged a trap with grenades and looked alarmed for a second, before reprimanding him again.

"Don't set traps in the house! And don't sleep on my bed!"

Akio looked at Reborn and Tsuna's antics with amusement before glancing at his watch and realizing how late it was. Not wanting to worry his mother, he regretfully bid goodbye to his friend, leaving him to deal with Reborn alone. He carefully avoided the trap the infant had set, and left Tsuna's house to go back to his own.

He reached his home and dropped into his bed immediately after entering his bedroom, completely forgetting he missed school. He entered a contemplating moments of silence as he thought about all that had happened that day. It had been a very weird, and yet enjoying day for him. All that happened that day was almost too surreal to believe. He had a feeling that a new path had opened for him. And he would follow that path if it meant following Tsuna.

He slowly closed his eyes, deep in thought, and let himself be taken by the silent mantle of sleep.

The next morning was normal enough, with no 'people in dying will mode running off to confess to the love of their lives' as Akio put it to Tsuna on their way to school. Despite his jokes, he could see Tsuna's obvious worries reflected in his pale face. After the previous day's events, he was probably concerned about how he would face Sasagawa Kyoko. Akio assured Tsuna that everything would be alright, despite him also being slightly worried. He stole a glance at the clear sky. _Today might be an interesting day._

Tsuna's worries were indeed justified. As soon as he entered the room, his male classmates began taunting and teasing him with the fact that he got dumped. Apparently Mochida had told every single person what happened. Tsuna was becoming even more uncomfortable. _They're saying too much_ thought Akio. He stepped into the classroom angrily and shot all the guys a glare through that clearly said 'shut up'. Most of the boys stopped speaking all together, while some just lowered their voices. Having a scary stare was useful sometimes.

Despite the ceasing of the insults, Tsuna just turned back to the hallway to leave, but he was stopped by members of the kendo club.

"You can't go home yet."

"Captain Mochida is waiting for you in the dojo."

"Off to the dojo!" they said, picking up Tsuna and carrying him through the halls.

The people that were in the classroom all ran in excitement after them. Akio followed the mass of running students with his eyes as he was momentarily stunned. He noticed that Sasagawa Kyoko, the person in the center of the recent developments, was reluctant in going to see whatever was going to happen. Her friends started dragging her to the dojo anyway, and Akio lagged behind, also interested (though it was solely in Tsuna's well being).

In the dojo, a crowd surrounded Mochida and Tsuna, filling most of the place. Many of them were students of Akio and Tsuna's class, but people from other classes were also there, along with the members of the kendo club.

"There you are you hentai stalker! God may forgive a piece of shit like you, but I won't! I shall smite you!" exclaimed Mochida, getting an yelp of desperation off Tsuna.

"Don't worry. It's an easy duel that even an idiot like you can understand. You're a novice at kendo. So if you can get an ippon* off me, you win! But if you can't, then I win! The prize is of course, Sasagawa Kyoko!!!" he screamed, pointing his shinai at Kyoko at the last part of his rant.

The said person felt particularly insulted by the way the kendo practitioner referred to her.

"Pri… Prize?!" she asked outraged. One of the girls that dragged Kyoko to the dojo, Kurosawa Anna, said a miscellaneous comment about Mochida being a jerk, and soon found herself trying to retrain Kyoko, who attempted to lash out at Mochida. Akio saw Kurosawa and her friend were having a bit of difficulty holding Kyoko back and went to help them. He wouldn't like to see the situation turn even worse.

He grabbed both her forearms, holding her back, and said with a soothing voice "Kyoko-san, calm down."

She struggled for a bit more and then calmed down, Akio taking his hands off her forearms then. He glanced at Mochida warily and then at the commotion around him. Akio pondered quietly. His senpai wasn't turning his issue with Tsuna into a battle, he was turning it into an execution. Akio knew something was up. He knew Mochida from the short time he was part of the kendo club, and there were two things he learned about him and made a mental note not to forget. Firstly, he wouldn't mind playing dirty to get what he wanted, and secondly, he was ruthless. There was no way he was going to even take a minimal chance of losing to Tsuna. Akio noticed the one who was going to judge the fight was himself a member of the kendo club. He hated to admit it, but Tsuna had very little chances of winning. He should've stopped this when he had the chance.

He looked for Tsuna to notice that he was missing. He pushed his glasses' black frames back to their place and looked at Mochida bragging about him winning the duel by forfeit. He concluded Tsuna had slipped out of the dojo by saying he needed to go to the bathroom as an excuse. He sighed, knowing that Tsuna's already low reputation would get even lower if he didn't come back. And he was almost sure the hopeless teen was not going to. Yet, there was something that told him not to worry.

Tsuna suddenly burst through the door in dying will mode, earning a plethora of different reactions from those in the dojo. People were amazed, some were simply surprised and the girls were just mostly embarrassed from seeing him in his underwear. Akio took note that Mochida seemed exceptionally mad, and Kyoko looked though as she was both relieved and surprised. He himself was perhaps the least surprised, as a single thought crossed his mind. _Reborn._

"READY! BATTLE!" screamed Tsuna, as he entered the room.

Tsuna ran past the two members of the kendo club with the armor that was to be given to him and just charged his adversary, earning surprised reactions from the students for attacking with no gear at all, and causing Mochida to laugh at him.

"Only an idiot would run in naked!! Did you think I'd hold back?! Eat this! You peon!" he said and stroke Tsuna directly in the forehead with a downwards swing of his shinai. Instead of being forced back, Tsuna held his ground, surprising Mochida and pushed forward in an instant, breaking the shinai between their foreheads and throwing the latter to the ground. Tsuna jumped on top of him and raised his hand high above his head. The crowd looked in expectation, wondering if Tsuna was going to score a men**.

Tsuna surprised everyone by suddenly ripping a patch of Mochida's hair off and screaming "I got hyaku-pon***!!!"

All the people in the dojo were momentarily stunned, before most of them started laughing and cheering and on Tsuna loudly. Akio bit his lip to stop himself from having a laughing outburst as well. Tsuna showed the lock of hair in his hands to the judge, asking if it counted, but he recoiled in fear. Tsuna cursed and ripped out the rest of Mochida's hair with a vigorous scream, this time even provoking fear on some people, who were wondering if the person before them was indeed Tsuna.

He showed his hands to the judge again proclaiming "Zenbu-pon****", who this time lifted the red flag and declared point for Tsuna.

"Red!" he said, with fear in his features.

All the people in the dojo then ran towards Tsuna complimenting and congratulating him with respect and amazement written all over their faces. Tsuna too could not believe he had beaten Mochida. Akio stood where he was, and looked to his left. There, he saw Reborn watching his student's show of power. He looked at Akio with a satisfied smile, who returned it with one of his own.

They both looked at Tsuna. Kyoko had gone to speak with him, and it seemed that they were now both on good terms. Akio was content when he saw Tsuna actually looked happy. He glanced to his left again to see no one there. Grinning, Akio ran over to Tsuna and flung an arm over his shoulder.

"Akio!" he said with a relieved voice .

"I knew you could do it Tsuna! You really showed him who the man around here is!" he said, making everyone laugh again.

Tsuna relaxed and just smiled together with all those around him, enjoying the moment his encounter with Reborn had given him.

_Airport in Tokyo_

In an airport in the western edge of Tokyo, some people there found themselves staring at the person who had disembarked. Especially any girls he passed next to. It wasn't every day that they saw a foreigner man as handsome as him.

The youth had silverish-gray hair and emerald eyes, which were even deeper than the color of the jewel itself. A frown marked his face, something that would reduce his appeal if it didn't go well with his ripped clothes and close to punk style.

He retrieved a picture from his pocket, paying no attention to the various looks the persons around were giving him. He looked over the photograph, which showed a boy with spiky brown hair and chocolate colored eyes and stuffed it back into his pocket, mumbling something to himself.

"I will see for myself if you are worthy of becoming the tenth Vongola, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

**And cut – that's all for today. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Once again, I am deeply sorry for not updating sooner, and I hope that the wait was worth it. Well, school is starting**** soon, so I don't know how regular my updates will be, but I will try to do it faster. Here are theexplanations for some words and puns:**

*_Ippon_ means a point in kendo, while _pon _is a counter for narrow objects, such as hair and pencils, hence why Tsuna ripped Mochida's hair instead of scoring a point, since he didn't specify which _pon_ he needed off him, and explaining the puns _hyaku-pon _and _zembu-pon._

**_Men _refers to the headgear portion of the kendo fighting outfit, and is the name given to a point scored in that area.

***_Hyaku-pon _is a play on _ippon_, which in this case means that Tsuna got a hundred _pon _(counter for hair in this case) out of Mochida, which could also be interpreted as 'one hundred points'

****_Zembu-pon _isn't a real world at all, but a combination of _zembu_, 'all', and _pon_, a counter, referring to the fact that Tsuna ripped out all of Mochida's hair.

**I don't know why I bothered to explain this, since you probably already knew it****. Leaving that aside, there's a few people I'd like to thank.**

Grenouille-85**, **ZechslittleVoice **and **Holchan**, thank you so much for reviewing my story. I'd also like to thank **KamiKaze no Kage**, **kiasyn**, **Matron**, and **ZechslittleVoice **(again) for adding this story to their story alerts. Finally, I really owe this chapter to my best friend **UzumakiMariah-chan**, who always encourages me to write and is my beta reader. Thank you Mariah-chan, for the very nice review, choosing to follow the story and adding to to your favorites. I'd also like to mention **- naochie-03-**, who also wished me good luck and told me not force the writing.**

**Thank you all very much, everyone!!! ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU!**

**And here is a short teaser for the next chapters.**

"_The volleyball tournament is today, but we're short a regular. I want you to play!"_

"_Sure, he'll play."_

"_Akio, don't decide these things for me!"_

"_Reborn, you wanted him to understand that he has his own strength, didn't you?"_

"_He's a weakling."_

"_Ne, Hayato, do you know the saying 'You mess with the bull, you get the horns'?"_

"_No way I'm leaving you in Hayato's hands. You'd sooner get killed with his explosives. You're not into this alone. I'm in too."_

**And that's all, thank you for reading this chapter. Note that I haven't finished writing the next chapters, so the quotes I used to give a teaser might change. I won't tell you who's speaking when, I'm sure you can guess it. ^_^**

**Goodbye everyone and thank you again!**


	3. Target 3: Dying Will Bullet, Unusable

**Hello again! Yes, I am a bit late with this chapter, **_**again**_**. The reason why I was so slow on updating was because of my increasing number of exams, and my agenda for the weekends being full.**

**Akio: Are you sure it wasn't really just you getting lazy? *smirks***

**Wha- Of course not! Ok, maybe a little bit. Ahem, anyway… If you want to hurry up and get to the story, then announce the disclaimer, would you?**

**Akio: Gladly. ColinatorGX does not own **_**Katekyo Hitman Reborn! **_**in any way or form, or any of its associated characters and other media or merchandise. He wishes he did though. He wishes for it with all of his might. Praying. With a cross. And he also wishes to own, in the same way as KHR, Naruto, Bleach -**

**They get the idea!!! Why did I partially model your personality after mine again?**

Target 3: Dying Will Bullet, Unusable

Akio and Tsuna peacefully strode down the halls of Namimori Middle School, earning both scared and respectful reactions from several of the other students, mostly directed at Tsuna.

"It's Sawada! Keep away from him!"

"Yo Tsuna!"

"Hey, it's Sawada! Let's go say hi to him!"

"No way! He's scary! Yoshida too!"

Ever since the incident with Mochida, most of the school had started to be more respectful towards Tsuna. While some appeared to spurn him out of fear, he had mixed feelings about the situation. Did he feel awkward from the new reactions? Yes. But did he feel happy about being treated better? Again, yes. He smiled a little to himself, making a mental joke about getting shot more with the dying will bullet.

Akio looked curiously at Tsuna and wondered what he could be reflecting about. A conclusion quickly formed in his mind, and he let a grin decorate his face.

"Tsuna… are you possibly thinking something like 'it wouldn't be a bad idea to get shot with the dying will bullet again'?" he asked teasingly.

"What?! I'm not! Who would be thinking of running around in his underwear?" Tsuna immediately retorted, dismissing his previous thoughts.

"Is that so? But did you know…" he paused for a second and produced a stack of papers with charts and graphics from seemingly nowhere. "… That, statistically speaking, your popularity increased around 44% since you defeated Mochida, while his dropped around 21%?"

"Where did you get those numbers?" Tsuna asked, looking unconvinced, and a little disturbed that he had produced the papers out of nothing.

"I didn't. But it's psychologically proven that if you mention percentages or numerical data to support information, then that information becomes more believable." he answered, throwing the stack of papers over his shoulder in disinterest and letting them fall slowly to the ground. "Well, at least it was that way with close to 90% of the participants in the study." he stated.

"Really?"

"Of course not! I'm just proving a point!" he stated in a _de facto_ matter.

Tsuna let loose a big sigh and bent down to pick up the papers Akio had been playing around with. His friend teased him far too much at times.

_'It's going to end up becoming unhealthy for me. For him too. He shouldn't force himself to smile all the time…' _he thought grimly.

"But Tsuna…" Tsuna jerked his head to his right and saw Akio helping him pick up the papers. "It's a nice change, isn't it? Being respected, I mean." he asked, smiling solemnly at Tsuna.

He was dumbfounded for a moment. He then blinked twice and smiled in response. "Yes. It is."

They finished picking up the papers and placed them in a nearby trash can. Akio stretched his arms lazily, wearing a satisfied expression as he resumed walking down the school hall. Tsuna wondered if it had been a real smile that Akio had shown him before moving to accompany him. Their march came to a halt as a voice broke through the comfortable silence and called out to Tsuna.

"Sawada!"

"Mo-morning." Came the stuttered reply from Tsuna.

"I need to ask a favor of you!" the boy who had called him said, clapping his hands together.

_'Just yesterday he beat Mochida, and people are already asking for favors?' _Akio pondered cynically.

He recognized the excited boy's face. He was part of the volleyball club in their school, and also their classmate. He hadn't spoken to Tsuna or himself much before. Akio had to repress a smirk at the situation. It was funny how one day people would condescend someone, and the next they would be dying to get on that person's good side.

_'It says something about society, I guess.' _ he concluded.

"Uh? A favor from me?" asked Tsuna incredulously. Despite people's sudden change in attitude towards him, he wasn't expecting anyone to start relying on him.

"The volleyball tournament is today, and we're short a regular. I want you to play!" requested the volleyball team member.

"Me?!" Akio took Tsuna's moment of surprise to crouch over him, using the shorter boy's shoulders as support.

"Sure, he'll play." He said with a mischievous smile.

"Akio! Don't decide these things for me!" Tsuna said with a hint of revolt in his voice.

"Ah… then you won't help?" the other boy asked, looking slightly disappointed.

"That's not…" Tsuna started hesitantly, stopping to think.

His athletic skills were below average. If they lost, he was sure to take the blame for it. He concluded he would have to regrettably refuse the request, despite some part of him being anxious and excited to be included in something like that. However, his mindset waned when he remembered the existence of the dying will bullet. He would never admit to wanting to get shot with it, that was a given. But, if he _did_ get shot, the results would be predictable. A new and unfamiliar sensation of cockiness got the better of him.

"I mean…well, I'll do it."

"Seriously? Awesome! We've got nothing to fear now! I'll see you there then!" the boy beamed in response.

Tsuna watched the boy leave for their classroom, a confident smile plastered on his face.

_'That's right, if I use the dying will bullet, there's no way things will go wrong_,' he thought. Unknown to him, Akio was staring at him with a stoic expression. Tsuna felt the uncomfortable stare on his back and turned around to question Akio.

"W-what?"

"Oh, nothing." He said calmly, switching to a more reserved tone. "I didn't really think you were going to accept the guy's offer."

Tsuna seemed taken aback for a second before answering, "Well, it's not like I could just turn him down, right? Haha…". His voice was insecure, and his uncertainty regarding exactly who he was trying to convince didn't go unnoticed by Akio.

"Keep telling yourself that…" He murmured under his breath, restraining a chuckle.

"Eh? Did you say something?" Tsuna inquired.

"It's nothing." Akio answered, returning his face to its regular teasing smile.

_'He plans to rely on the dying will bullet again? Humm, it's probably fine for now. Though I doubt he can use it in his current mental state_,' he thought, his fingers on his chin. He faced his friend and patted his head.

"What are you doing, Akio?" Tsuna asked, semi-pouting.

He made a turn for their classroom. "Just playing around." he said, looking over his shoulder, "Let's get going to class."

Said class, due to the excitement of what would follow, was like a slow and painful torture for Tsuna. For Akio on the other hand… it was a truly amusing show.

_'Tsuna's flustered face is so cute_,' he thought, laughing inwardly, before returning his focus to more pressing matters. '_I should search for Reborn after this class is over. Somehow, I have a feeling he's involved in all of this_.' He awoke from his reflective state when the bell rang, and promptly got up, leaving the classroom in search of the infant. Tsuna would have to make do without him for the time being.

He walked down to the first floor of the school and strode through the halls as if searching for something. Knowing Reborn, he probably had prepared a few hideouts in the school to watch over Tsuna. The hallway he was currently in was one of the least used by students. If someone was to prepare a hideout, it would be there. His nostrils flared at the scent of coffee, indicative of the Hitman being nearby. He followed the smell to a small steel cabinet where a fire hydrant was supposed to be.

He crouched and knocked twice on the cabinet with a curious smile. "Knock, knock."

The cabinet opened to reveal Reborn sitting in a very small western-like room while taking coffee. "Ciaossu, Akio. Good job finding this place."

Akio looked at the infant with amusement, but his expression gained a hint of dread when he acknowledged what the infant had done with the hideout. The boy was filled with a fear of retaliation from a certain someone. He would definitely have to keep it a secret. _That person_ wouldn't be happy to learn that his precious school had been tampered with. Not happy _at all_. The mere thought of it sent chills down Akio's spine.

He was brought back to his senses by the beckoning of the tiny voice beside him. "So, what did you want?"

"Did you have something to do with the volleyball team regular going missing today?" Akio asked while he gazed suspiciously at Reborn.

"Who knows?" He answered cryptically.

Akio resumed staring curiously at the baby, concluding that he could get no further information out of him until he heard a despairing and anxious Tsuna run down the hall in their direction.

"Reborn! I finally found you!" he said before stopping to catch his breath. "Quick, there's no time! Shoot me with the dying will bullet!" he demanded.

"Fine. I can shoot you, but you'll die." The infant answered in his unchanging happy tone.

"What?!" Tsuna exclaimed out loud, looking at Akio as if expecting an explanation.

Akio smiled slyly at his friend and answered with a playful tone. "Assuming that the bullet works on your determination, if you have no 'will' to do something, then you won't be resurrected with a dying will by it."

"That's correct. Do you think someone like you, that's gotten all full of yourself, has the resolve to actually do anything?" Reborn proclaimed.

"Then that means….the Dying Will Bullet is USELESS?!" Akio only rolled his eyes at Tsuna's reaction.

"Elementary, my dear Watson." He replied light-heartedly, further adding to Tsuna's frustration.

"Don't joke like that! I can't do anything without the bullet!"

"Ah! Tsuna-kun! And Yoshida-kun too." Both boys turned their heads to the owner of a soft feminine voice, belonging to Sasagawa Kyoko. "Everyone's waiting for you, Tsuna-kun. Let's go." She said, happily dragging Tsuna off. "Won't you be joining us, Yoshida-kun?"

"I'll be there in a minute." He answered.

The reluctant mafia boss to-be gazed pleadingly at Akio in a silent request to save him. Akio simply made an apologetic face and waved his hand. "Well then. Shall we go too? To see what Tsuna is going to do in the face of adversity?"

Reborn only smiled lightly in response, and began walking by Akio's side. The two made their way to the gymnasium where the match was occurring. It was bubbling with activity; many students, mostly out of boredom or desire to see the one who defeated Mochida in action, had crowded inside the building. Expectations were high, and the air was even more humid at the crowd of bodies.

'_I will never comprehend why people insist in piling up like penguins_,' Akio thought.

"This is a bit too packed up for my tastes." He stated.

Reborn stared at him earnestly, causing him to become a bit uncomfortable. It seemed the hitman shared his opinion. Though, there was in fact a place from where they could watch the game without being disturbed.

"This way, Reborn." he called, leading him to a high balcony inside the gym that had a clear view of the playing field. It had been built as a support for the lights and supervision for that sort of events, but it was hardly ever used anymore.

Coincidentally, they arrived just when Tsuna missed a block and the ball hit his stomach head-on. Akio cringed. That certainly had to hurt. However, his attention was focused not on his childhood friend, but on the crowd, who was starting to lose enthusiasm gradually. Not surprising. The first set of the game had ended with no surprises, leaving most of Tsuna's team with expressions that spanned from frustration to disappointment. It seemed like he was contemplating the choice of whether to leave or not, but Akio knew better. He observed Tsuna carefully, seeing a spark of empathy and determination lit up in his eyes. Reborn saw it too, leaping down from the balcony in a single moment that, had it been anyone else, would have been dangerous.

"Going to check up on him?" he asked the infant.

"Yeah." He answered simply, leaving with that single word.

Akio sighed and let his lips curve upwards in the thinnest of smiles. He knew Tsuna was coming back this time. He wasn't running away again. That would prove those rampaging idiots in the crowd wrong. His smile was about to turn into a smirk when his senses alerted him to another presence in the opposite side of the balcony. He turned his gaze towards one of the support columns, only to see that it was empty. Was his mind playing tricks on him even while he was awake now?

He shrugged it off and looked at the playing field again, seeing Tsuna return with new-found resolve in his eyes. He heard small footsteps near him that signaled the return of the small assassin.

"As long as he understands, it's fine." He said to no one in particular, readying a long rifle and pointing it in the direction of his student.

"Is that so?" came the response from Akio, muffled by the sound of two gunshots.

The bullets hit their target, and in the final set of the game, Tsuna managed to make a miraculous block, allowing his team to win and leaving almost every person in the gym speechless at the demonstration. Cheering ensued.

The two onlookers smiled contently at the spectacle. Akio lowered his head and turned to the exit. "Well then. I think it's about time I take my leave."

"Are you fine with this?" Akio stopped walking and shifted his position to look at Reborn.

"With what?" Reborn's gaze seemed to grow stern with the boy's answer, despite his face keeping the same neutral look.

"You know what I'm talking about." No word came out of Akio's lips. He knew what Reborn was _really_ asking him. 'Why aren't you down there sharing his happiness?' said those eyes that saw right though everything.

Akio was about to say a witty retort to try and change the mood of the conversation, but seemed taken aback for a second. He decided it was no use trying to deceive the hitman and steeled himself to respond honestly.

"Tsuna, he is strong. He is the kind of person that can do anything if he tries. Such is the power of his resolve." He spoke with a lower tone than usual, "But he doesn't believe in that. That's why I decided I would lend him my strength. Until the day he wouldn't need my help anymore", he continued, immersing himself in memories. "That day is not too far away. Then I'll become alone again. But if he becomes happy, that much is enough. I am content with just staying by his side." He concluded with a satisfied expression.

He ran a hand all the way from his hair through his wrinkled collar, exposing his neck for a few moments. Reborn's eyes narrowed ever so lightly when he noticed what that collar had been hiding all along, but choose to say nothing for the moment.

"Besides, he wouldn't be the first one that I lost." He added in a whisper, leaving with a sad smile.

**That's about it for the third chapter, I guess. I'm sorry it took so long, I've been reorganizing some ideas lately. This chapter is mainly about developing Akio's character, and exploring what's behind that mask of smiles and roses****.**

**I'd like to thank **Uzumaki Mariah-Chan **and **Grenoille-85 **for beta reading my story. Mariah-Chan especially for the support and ideas she always gives me, and Grenoille for correcting any grammar mistakes and helping me make the text smoother. I'd also like to thank anyone that's preciously read this story and left a review or added it to their story alerts.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you feel like it, drop a review to tell me your opinion.**


	4. Target 4: Gokudera Hayato

Target 4: Gokudera Hayato

It was morning in Namimori, the time that signaled the hurry of the salary men to get to work before they were fired, the starting of the housewives' chores and their reflection on what they would be doing the rest of the day, and last but not least, the frustrated groans of the students at the prospect of a new school day.

Yoshida Akio was not an exception. School was dull to him, and his inherent fluctuating sleepiness in the mornings wasn't awfully helpful. Little drew his attention, and few subjects enabled him to focus whole-heartedly. He could say school was mostly a chance to learn social skills. After all, one couldn't make a living if he didn't know how to relate to and interact with others, he thought. Regardless, he found himself quite proficient with that particular field of psychology. Especially in regards to infuriating people, solely for his delight. Everything got boring after a while though. However, the usual normalcy had gotten increasingly interesting lately. And he had no idea exactly how much more interesting they would become soon enough.

"I heard a rumor there's going to be a transfer student this week." Rang one of many whispers behind him. Unlike the usual quiet talks that went on between students every morning, this one actually pulled his attention.

He shifted in his chair and took his arms from their place behind his head, where they supported his leaning shape, and laid the left on the wooden desk. Of his right arm he rested only the elbow in the desk, dropped his chin on the back of the corresponding hand, leaning forward, and chuckled quietly. His classmates weren't discussing a rumor, they were discussing a fact. They just didn't know it. There really was a transfer student coming. In that same day, actually. He'd heard about it previously, and was already quite aware of the fact. But how he came to know something the remainder of the classroom wasn't sure about, and before them, was a secret he wasn't about to relinquish. After all, working for an egotistical murderous tyrant wasn't something he particularly enjoyed. But it did have its advantages.

"Attention everyone." The teacher said, entering the classroom. "We have a new student, who was studying overseas in Italy. This is Gokudera Hayato." He added, motioning to the person that had entered alongside him.

Akio looked up in momentary surprise as he analyzed the boy that had just entered. What drew his attention wasn't his grey hair, for it wasn't uncommon for teens to bleach their hair in unusual colors, but rather his eyes. They were an untainted emerald color, not typical of the Japanese. And Akio seriously doubted he was using contacts. His name sounded Japanese enough, but upon further inspection he realized the transfer student's face possessed some foreign curves. The transfer notice sent to the school stated he "was returning to Japan after having finished his studies abroad". Akio had found that suspicious. And now he knew why. Gokudera Hayato may have had a Japanese name, but one of his parents was surely a foreigner, besides being Italian. And when you knew Reborn, that kind of thing was never a coincidence.

His smile vanished when he realized Gokudera was glaring in his direction. _'Is he glaring at me?' _he thought, raising his brows in indifferent surprise. _'Wait… He's not looking at me, he's looking at the person behind me, in other words…Tsuna?´ _he realized, the truth dawning on him.

Accordingly, Gokudera paid no attention to Akio and waltzed over to Tsuna's seat, ignoring the teacher's stifled voice, and kicking the desk of the shorter boy, causing Tsuna to yelp in pain and surprise. Akio's eyes displayed just as much astonishment as Tsuna's, but were filled with newly developed dislike over the transfer student, as they watched him retreat to a seat in the back row. During the rest of the lesson, Akio's gaze kept switching from Tsuna, with worry visible in his irises, to Gokudera, when the worry was replaced with an annoyed spite. Tsuna tried not to focus on the angry glare directed at his back, nor on the exchange of dark looks between his friend and the odd transfer student, but still spent the rest of the class under a rather unpleasant pressure.

As the bell finally rang, Tsuna hastily exited the classroom without Akio, seeking some sort of refuge from the negative aura that had him as its center. However, not minding where he was walking to, he ended up bumping into some tall, intimidating seniors. Which were all too happy to have someone to torment.

"Hey pipsqueak, watch it. Someone could get hurt like that." One of them said with a malicious smirk, prompting Tsuna to run away in a flurry of apologies.

The older students shrugged in boredom and walked away, with their enthusiasm gone along with their prey, leaving the hall seemingly deserted. Or nearly. Gokudera Hayato leant against a wall with a half-hearted frown, having witnessed the show of cowardice Tsuna had just displayed. He uttered a "tch" loaded with something akin to annoyance and forced himself to head in the same direction Tsuna did. He was not about to allow such a shameful person to lead the Vongola. His eyes wondered along the corridor that lead outside to suddenly find themselves on the other end of a piercing stare. On the opposite end, and blocking his way was none other than Akio. Gokudera took another step forward only to have the mind-breaking stare placed upon him intensify.

'_What the hell does this bastard want with me?' _he thought, glaring harder in response. Akio didn't budge an inch, just stood there, as a watchdog would. Why wouldn't he get out of his way? Was he protecting the weakling? Such an idiotic thing was beyond his understanding. Gokudera grunted in defeat and walked away. It wasn't worth so much effort. He'd just approach the Sawada twerp later. After all, the icy-eyed bastard, _'Was Yoshida his name?'_, couldn't always be on the lookout for his friend. Could he?

As it turned out, yes, he could. Several times into the day, students stared uneasily at the repeating scene featuring Gokudera, Akio and Tsuna. Gokudera would try to approach Tsuna when all of a sudden Akio would show up, apparently out of thin air, and drive him away with his glare. And to add to the awkwardness of the spectacle, whenever Tsuna asked him what was wrong, he'd just smile in response, increasing the confusion of the soon-to-be mafia boss. Even though there was no real trouble for the bystanders at all, no one could shake off the notion that something about it just seemed fundamentally wrong.

'_Ignorance is blissful'_ echoed the minds of the spectators.

Meanwhile, Gokudera leant against a wall, panting nervously. All of his attempts to 'communicate' with the supposed tenth generation heir had so far been foiled by the timely and startling interferences of Akio. No, he decided, startling was an understatement. It was like the guy appeared out of nowhere. And that was, to a certain degree, very creepy. Last time, he conveniently decided to materialize right next to him, actually scaring the bomber out of his wits. Hence the reason he was gasping for air. _'What the hell is he, a kouga ninja?'_ he questioned his rapidly decaying sanity.

Gokudera straightened himself up and breathed slowly. Mustering a need for nicotine, he lit a cigarette to anesthetize his shaking nerves and considered his next move. He had to change his approach. Yoshida would not let him get close to Sawada. That much was certain. He had to find another way. Someway they wouldn't be interrupted or anyone would be able to interfere…

"Hey what's this?" he heard someone by the lockers say. He swung his head around to see two students whose faces he couldn't (or hadn't bothered to) recognize indulged in quiet chatter. The boy that had spoken was holding up an open envelope and a small piece of paper. "It's asking me to go the rooftop. Alone." He finished, after analyzing the letter.

"Ehh, you lucky dog!" teased the other boy, lightly punching his friend's shoulder.

The flushed individual waved his arms around in protest. "He-hey! It's not like this is a love letter or anything!" he protested "But if it is…" he beamed. By this time, however, the onlooker's attention had already closed off from the conversation.

As soon as he saw the letter, an idea lit in Gokudera Hayato's grade A brain. If he couldn't get close to Sawada due to Yoshida's interference, he would just have to change tactics and have his target come to him by writing an anonymous letter. Finally, when the coward was cornered and alone, he'd pass on his judgment. The perfect plan, he mused. He walked away in his newfound elation, unaware that his challenge letter would probably be mistaken for a document of a more delicate nature.

After acquiring the necessary materials for writing a letter, including an old-fashioned ink pencil, he launched himself at work. Determined to make the paper as regal and imposing as the Vongola Famiglia, he worked the finest and most delicate calligraphy he could out of his hands. Content with his work, he returned to the area where he'd first had the wondrous idea that would bring him his target for the picking. Noticing no one at a first look, his eyes flashed in resolve.

Instantly assuming an overly serious look, Gokudera stuck to the closest pile of lockers. His frame slowly moved to the corner, where he peeked over his shoulder cautiously. Confirming the surrounding area as devoid of any presence other than his, he rocketed towards his destination. The locker of one Sawada Tsunayoshi. In a single theatrical gesture, the bomber slipped the letter he had prepared into the locker, and ran from the scene to avoid suspicion. He smirked haughtily. Now that the trap was sprung, he needed only to wait for the time to come. That and decide how he would deal with the miserable boy that was his target.

He cocked his head to the side as he contemplated the possibilities. _'Let's see… I could tie his feet to a brick and dump him in Tokyo Bay. That would show him the mafia isn't a playground.' _He dismissed the thought as fast as it appeared and shook his head disapprovingly. _'No, that's too much trouble. I'll just blast him with my dynamite.'_

Walking around absentmindedly, he didn't noticed when he wandered into a hall with good visibility to the courtyard of the school. Outside, the sun was closing in on the horizon, tainting the clouds and skies alike in hues of light orange and yellow, and producing streams of light that reached the corridor. The dark hall was illuminated only by the encroaching beams of sunlight, gifting it with a sullen atmosphere. Suddenly, the sound of something hitting the floor woke him from his daze. Hayato looked outside the window for the source of the sound and saw a dust-covered Tsuna lifting himself back from the floor where he had fell.

"What a weakling." He mumbled under his breath.

As he turned around to continue his stride until the time came for his ingenious plan to hatch, he was unexpectedly met with the figure of his newfound nemesis moving towards him. Akio stopped few meters short of him and eyed him eerily. The faint light of dusk illuminated part of his features and cast heavy shadows over the remainder of his frame. Amongst the darkness, Gokudera could barely make out an edge of a scar in the exposed area of Akio's neck.

"What do you want with Tsuna?" The raven haired boy asked, glaring at the lighter haired bomber.

"That's not any of your business." he replied coldly. Akio's frown grew, but he produced a crooked smirk in his face.

"Tsuna is my friend, so it _is _my business," He stopped momentarily before finishing in a teasing tone. "Hayato-_chan_."

Gokudera's expression twisted into a mix of embarrassment and anger. "Who the hell gave you permission to call me that?"

Akio laughed dryly. "Haha, I guess no one." He turned his back to Gokudera and began walking away, but stopped as if remembering something. "Ah, that's right" He turned towards him slowly and removed his glasses, again facing the part-Italian youth. "Hayato, have you ever heard the saying 'You mess with the bull, you get the horns'?" He asked, smiling icily in an expression of warped serenity.

Gokudera shivered, not noticing he had traced back a step. The palpable dark aura behind that smile made it a thousand times scarier than any glare he could've possibly mustered. His mind had stopped working, but his instincts were screaming at him in fear. Warning him that _'This guy is dangerous'_. He felt a drop of sweat make its way down his cheek and took another small step back. The killing intent pouring uncontrollably was giving him goosebumps. He considered running away for a moment, but stopped that thought when he realized it would the same as letting an insult slide by. Worse, it would be a stain on his honor as a Mafiosi. And as a man, even. He clenched his fists in insurgency and bit down hard on his cigarette. There was no way he was going to let himself be intimidated. He looked at his opponent and noticed his increasingly smug look.

The part-Italian boy felt a vein of irritation pop up in his forehead, the beforehand felt fear all but forgotten, and began rashly chanting an aggravated outburst. "You! I'll -"

"Ahh~ so you haven't heard it." Akio promptly interrupted him, with a sickly sweet smile replacing the preceding chilly smirk. "And here I thought such a well-versed person like you would know an old saying like that backwards!" he said, returning his glasses to their resting site.

Frozen on the spot from the drastic and somewhat disturbing mood change, Gokudera had no reaction when Akio strolled over to him to pat his shoulder twice and acted out his stage exit, tinted with a thick drop of mockery. "Alas, my esteemed presence is required elsewhere. See you around, Hayato-_chan_!" he bid his goodbyes, zooming around the corner in a cartoonish manner.

The smoker's tube of nicotine was left to hang dangly at the side of his open mouth, about to fall to the floor._ 'What the hell just happened?'_

Leaving his dumbfounded classmate staring at the walls without as much as a second thought, Akio zoomed happily in search of Tsuna. He had already passed on the cares one should have when dealing with the metaphorical bull. How much the beast's horns would sting Hayato, dare he goad it, was something no longer within his zone of earthly concerns. Nor outwordly. Regardless, if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that the single entity that could break the limits of stubbornness even beyond the bull was the _matador _alone. But of what use would the caped fighter's expendable courage be when faced against the beast's affable willingness to maim him? About the same an umbrella had to protect oneself from a falling anvil. Somehow, the thought of Hayato having a five-ton anvil en route to his head with only an umbrella for protection brought a smile to his lips.

Well, he would make an effort to enjoy the bloody onslaught that would follow if the octopi-head truly threatened his dearest friend, he decided. If a mess was going to go off in spite of his hundred per cent honest and diligent advices promoted solely to safeguard the mental and physical health of transfer student Gokudera Hayato-kun, he might as well make the best out of it.

"Akio, don't interfere."

Said honor student froze in place at the sudden reemergence of the one character that had been MIA for the most of the day. Shifting his head to the side, he found none other than the infamous assassin and merciless home tutor together with his trusted chameleon sidekick staring at him. He felt a classy sweatdrop slide down his head.

'_Did I just get out"kouga-ninja"ed?' _Akio deadpanned inwardly. Removing a non-existing ache in his throat by coughing, he quickly molded his expression back into a cheerful, but nonetheless superficial, grin.

"Ehhhh, interfere? What might you mean by that, Reborn?" The assassin returned the shallow smile with a smirk of his own before proceeding to unleash his witty retort.

"Nothing in particular. I was just considering how auspicious it is that Gokudera has sparked your interest. Surely, it should be a given that no hindering animosity will be born from the two of you. Ne?"

Akio twitched. In what was a ridiculous notion, if he said so himself, the baby had completely seen through him. And he'd done it in such a way that it was almost an insult to his ego. Usually, he was the one who saw through people like they were low quality glass. Who, in many cases, would likely be more useful to society as such than in their present state. But that was beyond the point. And completely unrelated to the eventful and flowery choice of words that seemed specifically chosen to mock him.

"Your killing intent is seeping through." Reborn pointed out, noticing the figurative black tendrils that seemed to be escaping from him.

Eyes widened in startle, he spun around and flailed his arms to dissipate the smoky strands of his bloodlust. Damning his carelessness over the opening cracks in his performance, he glared at Reborn without resuming the act. Loitering around with words at the current point would just be a waste of saliva. And he sure as hell did not want to leave his lips dry.

"Listen, you. There is no reason you could possibly summon to make me hesitate over standing between my friend and, by all signs so far, a murderous whelp without any sense of self-preservation." The words left his mouth before he'd even ordered them in his head. But processing them properly after hearing them, he realized that his evaluation of Hayato's awareness didn't really have anything to do with what he wanted to get across. Even if he was annoyed by watching him engage in a futile, self-destructive activity like smoking.

Reborn, however, seemed as though he already had his answer and awaited only the question, for he spoke without hesitation or flinching. "I'm a home tutor. And this is a test I decided Tsuna has to pass to keep advancing. And merits are meaningless if you haven't earned them with your own strength. That's all there is to it."

Akio stared in doubt at the infant for a second. Was he serious? He couldn't notice any deception in the words. Mostly calm professionalism. But that wasn't all there was. Reborn had proven to care about training Tsuna as a person, not just as a mafia boss. He had trusted him in the volleyball incident to come through with his own resolution. Akio felt he had understood a little about Reborn then. And he was sure the baby wouldn't let harm come to Tsuna. It also helped that the infant had an almost supernatural ability to inspire confidence in others.

Akio relaxed, or at least seemed to, and smirked subtly. "Ehh, I better stay quiet then. We can't have your student bailing out thanks to me." Silencing himself to think for a moment, he added a sterner afterword to his sugary declaration. "On the same note, I can't have him endangered either. Keep that in mind."

Having said what he wanted to, he left the infant to his self-righteous justifications and went back to Tsuna's side, lest certain headstrong worms attempt to start an infestation despite faced with the visage of the grinning bug spray. Needless to say, Tsuna was beyond the boundaries of flustered when Akio found him.

"Akio! Where have you been? Don't just disappear so suddenly! Do you like making me uneasy?" he exclaimed heartfully.

'_More like I have a preference for seeing you get jumpy.' _Akio's mind whispered spontaneously. Tsuna's nervous whiplashes were something he was already used to, so he had no trouble thinking up another of his teasing retorts. However, his timid friend hadn't finished yet, as the anxiety washed away to be replaced by a voice of concern. "And I was worried! You… weren't doing anything dangerous, right?"

Akio stared into nonexistence, wondering what he should say. In the end, he just smiled and simply answered "Of course not."

Or so he said. Was he lying? He didn't know. The line that distinguished lie and truth was a faint, intermittent one at best. In the passing school days, it wasn't anything he cared much about, at any rate. But if what he'd said was a lie, then it was an ambiguous one. The danger wasn't directed at him, after all. But nonetheless, there was danger involved. And so he decided he was lying. But he cared not. Though, Akio was certain he knew someone who would berate him for it. And she'd do it with nothing to back her up but her strong gaze, and an unyielding conviction. To boot, he was certain she'd win the squabble as well. T'was hassling trouble to craft excusable arguments in the nick of time. She would then smack him and redeem him with a smile. Ahh, the duality of forgiving. But lies were much more fun than truth at times, he'd argue. Except when it came to blackmailing. The best thing invented by man since sarcasm.

His philosophic considerations going unnoticed, Tsuna went on with his reproaching dialogue. "And you even skipped the last class! I was seriously concerned!"

"Sorry, sorry, I just had some delicate business to take care of." He cheerily excused himself. This time it wasn't a lie, just a minor obscuring of the facts. Putting the matter at hand behind him for the moment, he changed back to his teasing self soon thereafter. "But never mind that. I can't believe little Tsuna still can't go without his awesome buddy here." He bumped a fist to his chest. "You're going to have to fix that someday. Surely you wouldn't want me sticking uncomfortably close to you at all times when you should suffer the slightest pang of uncertainty. Like when you and Kyoko-san go on your honeymoon and start making–"

"AKIO!" The sharp tongued youth failed to deliver his overkill rebuttal to its entirety, being interrupted by the enjoyable cries of mortification coming from the mafia heir. He laughed whole-heartily.

"You know, if your hair were as red as your face is right now, we could have you play the main character of 'The Red Haired Snow White' for the school festival." He beckoned, seemingly forgetting the fact that their festival was still some time away. Or simply not minding it, perhaps.

"That's not what's important here!" Tsuna shook his head in disapproval and a hard-feeling headache. "Mou! You walk off, God knows where, and then you return with full-blown tease marathons like this. It's troublesome."

Akio pouted in an exaggerated fashion in response. "I get it, I get it. You party pooper." He said, forcing out a hurt voice. He shifted to regard Tsuna closely, and as he did, the pout faded and his expression mellowed. "I'll make an effort to retain the teasing to acceptable boundaries."

Tsuna noticed the seldom shown sincerity in his friend's words and couldn't help but smile a little. "Thank you." He answered, exhaling a sigh of relief.

Akio extended a hand to Tsuna's shoulder and beckoned for them to walk together. "Classes are just about done. How about we get doing?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Falling into a comfortable silence, the two friends walked in small strides to the school entrance. It was also, unbeknownst to them, the stage of their unfriendly neighbor Hayato's trap. The pair headed to their respective lockers to retrieve their shoes when Tsuna came across a most unusual sight upon opening his. There was a piece of sealed paper signed with his name inside the metal locker. He stared skeptically for a second or so… and closed back the locker without making a sound. The foreign object in the metal casket had to be a mirage. It couldn't possibly be what he thought it was, much less be real. It surely wouldn't be there when he opened the locker again. Yes. Surely.

While the mafiosi-in-training preoccupied himself with his fleeting assumptions, Akio had already changed his shoes and was lazily stretching his arms above his head when he noticed Tsuna gazing aloofly at his locker and holding something in his hands. His tease bait radar then suddenly jolted. Sensing a chance to be charmingly annoying, he grinned and sneaked over to behind the dazed boy.

"Boo!" he suddenly yelled.

"AAAHH!" To say Tsuna was spooked would be an understatement. To say Akio was sneaky would not, however. In a fell swoop, he swiped the paper being prized in Tsuna's arms into his greedy hands. Stretching it before his eyes, he recognized the familiar semblance of a generic love letter. His eyes widened. A love letter? Addressed to naive little Tsuna? Possible but not probable. Regardless, it was _very_ nice taunting material. A smirk then began shaping in his lips at the possibilities for mischief the situation presented. The youth decided to start exploring them all right away.

"Oh? This is this possibly…"

His mouth didn't stop moving until after a few seconds of delay, but any sound ceased right after he realized there was a fait scent of tobacco emanating from Tsuna's letter. He felt his mind shake in an odd convergence of disbelief, surprise, and unsure mirth. _'Hayato.' _He deduced instantly. _'This is…wow. Just wow.' _ How was someone supposed to react in such a ridiculous situation? Damned if you do, damned if you don't, big time. So he decided to pretend he'd noticed nothing. Hoping his expression hadn't given him away, he shoved the initial shock away to pick up his comedic routine where he left off, again hoping Tsuna wouldn't notice.

"Hehe. Looks like Tsuna-chan has got himself an admirer." At the face of desperation, Tsuna made his best impression of a frown and lunged at the letter, but Akio let out a confident scoff at the harmless attack and confidently slid out of the way.

It'd serve no purpose to say that Tsuna's nose did not take the resulting fall so kindly. "Ouch!" he said, as he felt his eyes become watery. It hadn't hurt to the point of breaking it, but enough to make his nose redden.

Because Tsuna had fallen with his back to Akio, however, the latter couldn't see the results of the flight. His eyes widened, and his face hardened in alarm as he slipped to his friend's side. Forgetting the joking in an instant, he fell down to a crouch and used one hand to turn the brunet towards him.

His voice resounded coldly, but with a hint of shakiness towards the safety of his friend. "Tsuna! Are you alright –" But it faded as the beacon of discord was snatched from him and clutched tightly in arms belonging to the object of his worries.

"Tsk." Akio spit out. So long for his entertainment. He pushed his glasses back to look at a pouting Tsuna and concluded that was fine. He offered him his hand and helped him up. As long as Tsuna was okay. He had a bruised ego and nose, but he was okay. Mostly. Akio couldn't use the misunderstood message to taunt the acclaimed Mafiosi into going physical anymore. However, just because Akio lost his leverage, didn't mean he couldn't go on with the acting.

"Haahh. Game over for me." he said, accentuating the expression with a melodramatic sigh. "But Tsuna. I thought your heart already belonged to a certain girl you are smitten with. Are you going to dump this …" He continued in a questing expression that soon turned into a sneer. "… _innocent maiden_ that wishes to tell you the full scope of her pure feelings for you? Or perhaps" the sneer widened, "you're going to take her? Ehhhhhh?"

"Wha-" Tsuna was surprised for an instant, but followed through with a surprisingly swift answer. "Of course I'm going to dump her! I… like Kyoko-chan!" It didn't take long for the speech to become hesitant, despite its booming start though. "Yeah. No matter how cute this girl is." Akio stared, drawn in by the suspicious pause. And he stared hard enough that Tsuna could actually _hear _him staring.

_Jiiiiiiiii…_

That made him nervous. The truth of the matter was, while he did in fact like Kyoko, and he was sure that wouldn't be changing so soon, receiving a 'love letter' felt flattering. It was a pleasant sensation, akin to feeling needed. Of course, the poor boy was completely unaware that the 'innocent maiden' that wished to speak with him was actually a boy his own age with all the intent to likely murder him, or that Akio was staring at him because he was dying of laughter inwardly from watching Tsuna's reactions to his supposed admirer. Oh, how the poor boss trainee would feel when he realized the truth. It wasn't going to need a supernatural destroying right arm for his illusions to be shattered to pieces.

"So, what does the letter say anyways? I didn't get a chance to read it before you took it back." In acknowledgement, Tsuna spread open the paper and smoothed out a few creases from when it was passed around between them. The message read out, in an incredibly polite manner and a tidy handwriting, the following:

"_Sawada Tsunayoshi-san, first and foremost, I apologize for any bother this may possibly cause. However, there is something of dire importance I would like to tell you._

_If you will hear me out, please go to the back of the main school building by yourself, so we may speak freely without being bothered. I anxiously await to see you."_

Akio tried to smother another chuckle, but he couldn't contain the sound fully and a stifled _pfffff _escaped his lips despite his attempt. Things were turning more ridiculous by the second. It was almost as if Hayato tried to make it look like a love letter on purpose. Either that, or he was just very single-minded and incredibly dense. He took a mental note of this and gauged Tsuna's assessment of the letter.

He was visibly shaken. "Well, I was just going out on a whim, but lo and behold, it really is a love letter!" Akio said cheerfully.

He gave his friend a strong push to his back, unbalancing him in the process. "Whoa!" the brunet swung around for a few seconds before he felt his weight firm again. "A-Akio?" he questioned.

"Go meet your fervent fan. I'll wait for you." The raven haired boy answered.

"You're not coming?"

Akio tilted his head to the side in a gesture akin to curiosity. "Oh? You wanted me to accompany you? It would be quite rude for you to bring me along when this person's business is exclusively with you though."

Suddenly the floor seemed very interesting to Tsuna, as he hung his head down staring at it. He muttered something like "I see" and sighed. "Try not to get carried away and make me wait for long though." said Akio's bemused voice.

"There's no way!" Tsuna lifted his stare and hurried to the back of the school. At the very least, it surely wouldn't be as embarrassing as dealing with his best friend's insinuations.

The unaware boy skipped off Akio's sights, heading for the meeting that would earn him, even if he didn't know it yet, both one of the most loyal subordinates and friend he'd ever have, and a massive storm of daily headaches and misunderstandings. Such things would be nothing more than the day's side dish in the proving times to come. But since full knowledge of the future tends to be a rather limited thing in most human minds, Akio followed Tsuna with a raised guard, as opposed to carefree anticipation.

Walking to the meeting place, Tsuna realized he was fidgety. Unsure, even. It was, after all, the first time a girl would be confessing to him. Ahh, what if like Akio said, she was really, really cute - No, no! His feelings for Kyoko-chan wouldn't be swayed! Yes, he was going to say hello to her, apologize, and decline her. That's all that was going to happen…

Was what Akio's guts told him Tsuna was thinking as he awaited him from behind the darkness of the school building's corner. Yes, little Tsuna was so simple. His face when he saw the writer of the letter would be priceless. _'Should've brought a camera_', he thought, _'to record the moment'_.

He took a moment to record the world around him. The wind was blowing softly. The shadows cast by the coming sunset were becoming longer and slimmer, the sky was dyed in numerous warm shades, and the air was almost shining. It was a beautiful evening. Fitting for confessing the purest feelings in your heart. A shame that nothing like that was going to happen. Well, not to Tsuna, at least. But he had crossed ways with a slightly flustered, but enthusiastic looking student he wasn't too familiar with heading for the opposite side of the school. Remembering him from the bubblier friend that he mostly stuck around with, he noted with interest the fact that he was alone this time. Apparently, someone had gotten lucky that day.

But back to the matter at hand. He had spotted the perpetrator. Akio's eyes trailed along the trees that grew next to the school fence along with miscellaneous vegetation, where Gokudera Hayato lay on his feet, relaxing by the thick stem of a tree, under its now long shadow. He appeared quite peaceful for someone who was planning murder or a violent crime of some description. And smoking.

"This is the place, right…" Akio's ears perked up at hearing Tsuna's voice. He shrunk behind the wall to make sure he wouldn't be seen and narrowed his eyes. The scene then began to unfold.

Gokudera snapped from his reverie at Tsuna's arrival. His plan to lure him to a deserted place had worked perfectly. No bodyguards, no hindrances. Now he could safely clear his doubts about the tenth generation heir.

"You've come." He said, making his presence known.

Tsuna jumped in surprise. "Go-Gokudera-kun? What are you doing here? I was, erm, supposed to meet someone here, so if you don't mind can I ask you to le –"

"I was the one that called you here!"

Deathly silence abruptly washed over them.

The corner of Akio's mouth twitched. Reborn looked on with slightly raised eyebrows. Gokudera kept his rough frown on.

But to Tsuna, nothing else occurred him at the time other than screaming. As he did frequently, it seemed.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?"

So sudden it was that even Gokudera jumped back slightly.

"We can't Gokudera-kun! I mean, I've got someone in mind already and… WAIT, THAT'S NOT IT! We – we're both guys!"

And at that phrase, Gokudera broke out of his surprise and raised his voice together with a accusing finger pointed at Tsuna.

"That has nothing to do with whether you can take it!"

The Seventh generation Vongola Boss had been a woman after all. There was no gender barrier.

"Take it! B-but! We're too young for –" Tsuna seemed to do a double-take when he realized what he was very close to saying. "NO! That's not what I meant!"

"People with that kind of attitude will always stay on bottom throughout their lives!" Gokudera said in retort. How dare this guy undermine a person's ability based on their age?

"ON BOTTOM?" Tsuna yelped.

He wanted to run off and never look Gokudera in the eye again. But he knew he couldn't do that. As it had come to this, he had to make his feelings known loud and clear.

"I'm sorry!" he said with a bow.

"Ha?" Gokudera blinked.

"I.. I can't return your feelings!"

Awkward silence ensued. Tsuna looked up from the bow and noticed Gokudera's hands shaking uncontrollably. "So… in the end you mean to say you don't even care, huh?" He asked through grit teeth.

"Eh?" Tsuna raised his head and saw Gokudera clutching two lit dynamite sticks in his hands.

"In that case... You can just die!" he threw the sticks in Tsuna's miscellaneous direction.

Tsuna "eek"-ed and began to run when the explosions sounded and he fell on his back.

Akio's eyes lost their humor and his hand inched dangerously close to the weapon concealed beneath the hem of his unchecked white shirt. His legs tensed but before he took a single step forward, Reborn jumped down to his side and stretched his arm in the way. He glared in response, but stayed his movement. The baby gave a satisfied smirk and turned back to his student.

"Hieeee!" Tsuna got up from the shock and began running away.

"Stand still!" Gokudera yelled as he lit more sticks and threw them at Tsuna.

The victim forced himself to keep running until he was faced with the hard wall of the school building. His palms collided with it and he flipped himself around to look at his enclosing attacker.

"You have nowhere to run now."

Tsuna's back slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground and he started to move his arms frantically.

"Wait, wait, WAIT!" he implored. This was a mistake, he thought. Why was Gokudera even trying to kill him? Surely he didn't take rejection that badly? Tsuna looked at the dynamite sticks poised to blow him up.

Then again, maybe he did.

"This is goodbye." Gokudera said solemnly.

No, no noNO! He had to say something to salvage this, Tsuna thought as he clutched his head in his arms and closed his teary eyes.

"IF YOU SENT ME THAT LOVE LETTER, WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?" the brown-haired boy cried in desperation.

Silence ensued once again. But this time it had the feel of the moment just before a bomb exploded.

Tsuna stopped shaking and opened one eye very slowly as he lowered his arms. Did that work? Behind the wall, Reborn scratched his cheek with an aloof expression. Akio held a hand over his mouth and another over his stomach. He looked like he was about to fall over.

The first thing to break the silence it was Gokudera's shaky voice. "What… love letter?"

Tsuna opened his other eye and stared uncertainly at him. "Eh? Was I mistaken?"

If it was possible, Gokudera's eyebrows wrinkled further together. His face heated up to a shining red and a popping noise made itself known from his forehead.

"JUST DIE!" he yelled, lighting a handful of dynamite with his cigarette and throwing it at Tsuna.

"UWAH!"

Akio awaked from his trance and crouched in preparation for a dash as he clutched his hidden weapon. But before he could even move, the dynamite sticks' fuses were split off by two sudden bangs while they were still in the air.

Gokudera let out a "Pfft" as the sticks clattered harmlessly on the ground and Akio released a breath of relief.

"Ciaossu."

Tsuna's eyes widened as the small assassin walked into view. "Reborn!" he said, with resounding relief.

"You came earlier than I expected, Gokudera Hayato." The hitman declared.

Tsuna lost the bliss in his expression and paled. "Wait, you know him?"

"Not personally. But he's a member of the family that I called over from Italy, if you were wondering." He answered.

"He's mafia?" Tsuna interjected with a quickly paling face.

"So you're the assassin the Ninth holds in such high regard. Reborn." Gokudera said as he shifted his whole attention from Tsuna to the baby.

Tsuna shot a look filled with a little awe to Reborn, but that feeling was soon replaced through the contents of Gokudera's next sentence.

"You weren't kidding about me becoming the successor if I kill Sawada, right?"

"Wha… what are you talking abou –"

"Ah, that's right. I did say that. Yes, proceed with the killing then." Reborn said, neutral-sounding as ever.

Tsuna did not take kindly to those words. "You're kidding!" he moved between Gokudera and Reborn and stared urgently at the latter. "This…You're joking right?"

"I'm serious."

"So you're just betraying me then! Was everything up till now a lie?"

Reborn pointed his gun at him and let his smile grow a little wider. "Wrong. I'm telling you to fight."

"With… him?" he looked back at Gokudera and gulped.

Then he started running.

"No way I'll fight with the Mafia!"

"Hold it!" Gokudera cut off Tsuna's path and lit a number of cigarettes, which he used to light a larger number of bombs than before.

Tsuna yelped and dashed away to the side. He wouldn't let himself get caught by those bombs again.

"By the way, it's said that Gokudera Hayato is a human explosive device that hides bombs all over his body. Better known as Smokin' Bomb Hayato."

"This is impossible!" Tsuna pushed power into his legs even as the dynamite sticks bounced over around and behind him.

Despite powering his speed as much as he could, he miscalculated one thing. The greater amount of bombs. As they exploded, he was propelled through the air a few feet to land in the ground again.

Akio clenched his fists. He'd had enough of it. He walked out of the shade and towards the explosions. Reborn noticed this and stood in his way, but he went around and kept walking.

"Don't bother." He said as he stopped left Reborn hanging with his partially open mouth. "No matter what you say, there is a fine margin that I don't work with. And I don't trust you this much."

Reborn closed his mouth and looked thoughtful for a moment. Then his voice resounded again towards Akio's shrinking back.

"Then don't trust me. Trust Tsuna." The boy stopped in his tracks.

He shook, slowly at first. Then the shaking erupted and revealed itself as a sudden wave of laughter. The laugh spread loudly into the air for a few seconds when it started to die down until it finally stopped.

"You always know the thing to say." He turned towards the infant with a grin. "Shall we go support him then?"

Reborn smirked back in response and jumped back on his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Tsuna was running for his life.

"WHY ME!" he exclaimed, even out of breath as he was. Then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and there was Akio waving at him, holding up a placard that read "FIGHT ON!" written in fiery red. And Reborn was perched on his shoulder.

"FIGHT~! Tsuna!" Akio yelled, raising a fist into the air.

"What the hell is this about!"

"To your left!"

"Eh?" an explosion sounded to the left of Tsuna, and he was forced into a roll that threw him between three walls.

"Another dead end!"

"This is it!"

Gokudera threw what he thought would be the finalizing hail of bombs at Tsuna. The sticks flew towards him, and fear reflected in his eyes. Was he going to die just like this?

"Fight with a Dying Will."

A single bullet embedded itself within Tsuna's forehead. His body fell backwards, leaving a trail of blood from the wound, and it happened. His clothes burst and Tsuna rose back to his feet in only his underwear with a bright flame lighting his forehead and a vigorous yell.

"I'LL PUT OUT THE FUSES WITH MY DYING WILL!"

His hand shot towards one of the dynamites' fuses and smothered it. "Defuse!"

And then another, and another, as he defused all the explosives in a flurry of movement.

"DEFUSE DEFUSE DEFUSE DEFUSE!"

Gokudera's eyes widened. He then grabbed a even larger handful of explosives and threw them at Tsuna once again.

"Double Bomb!"

But it served to no avail, as the boy speedily defused all of them once again without even blinking.

A vein popped up in his head, and Gokudera grabbed an absurd amount of dynamite in his hands to the point where he could hold no more. Akio absentmindedly wondered if all Mafiosi had gigantic pockets. Or maybe the Vongola just issued 4th dimension pockets to the members?

"Triple Bomb!" Gokudera said, lighting the ridiculous number of bombs in his hands. But as he was about to throw them, a single one dropped to the floor. Startled by that small mishap, the bomber's stance fell apart. And all the remaining sticks of dynamite fell and clattered to the floor to join the first one, with their fuses continuing to burn.

"Shit." He said simply.

The moment fell apart like the bombs. Akio spit a "tsk" and made to grab his weapon and move. As much as he wanted to protect Tsuna, he didn't want anyone to die. But Hayato was too far away. He wouldn't make it in time.

"DEFUSE DEFUSE DEFUSE DEFUSE DEFUSEDEFUSEDEFUSEDEFUUUSE!"

Fortunately, he didn't have to. With the same burning speed he defended himself, Tsuna rushed to Gokudera and smothered all of the bombs before they had a chance to detonate and end the bomber's life.

And as Tsuna and Akio sighed in relief, Gokudera dropped the cigarette still in his mouth.

"Whew. I made it." The former said. He sat on his knees and his energy seemed to fade the same way the extinguishing flame on his head.

"That was a close one." Akio offered, coming close to Tsuna.

"Akio! Yeah, it was –"

"I was mistaken!" Gokudera interrupted Tsuna and prostrated himself before him. "You're the one who's fit to be the Boss!"

Akio's eyes widened and Tsuna acquired a surprised look in his face.

"I swear I will follow you! Command me to do anything!" the half-italian concluded, raising his face now shaped in a heartfelt grin.

"Whaaa?"

Reborn chose this time to impose on the conversation. "It's a family rule to have the loser of a duel serve under the winner."

"But…" Tsuna glanced uncertainly at Gokudera.

"Please hear me out!" he asked from where he stood. "I actually didn't have any ambitions to become the Tenth. It's just, when I heard he was supposed to be a Japanese guy the same age as me… I felt like I had to test his strength." He said with an apologetic look to him.

"But you were so much more than I expected!" he continued with renewed fervor. "You put yourself on the line to save me! For this, I place my life on your hands! I promise to be forever loyal to you!"

Gokudera then turned to Akio. His expression contorted as though admitting a mistake, but he settled on a solemn gaze. "Yoshida."

Akio regarded him with a neutral gaze. Oh? Seems like Hayato still had issues with him. Granted, he wasn't hoping for a reconciliation, but still…

'_It seems like someone needs to be taught his pla-_'

"I'm sorry for my disrespect!" the bomber said with bow.

Wait, what? Akio blinked and stared at him as he continued.

"I insulted the Tenth and thought less of you for standing on his side. But I was wrong! You showed inspiring loyalty to a worthy man like the Tenth! And you have my admiration. I hope we will get along from now on, for the sake of the Boss!" he exclaimed, raising his head.

Akio was surprised. Hayato had actually gone out of his way to swallow his pride and apologize to him, despite their earlier disagreements? If anything, that was the admirable thing. But he wasn't convinced.

And yet, scanning Gokudera's eyes, he couldn't find anything to fault him for. Just a strong gaze determined to make amends. A gaze that expressed loyalty. And a little deeper, even a familiar-looking gaze.

He smirked.

"You're actually a pretty simple guy, aren't you?" he asked. "But I don't dislike that."

Gokudera found himself a little irked by the first sentence, but beamed, taking the whole of it as an approval.

"I won't disappoint you!" he turned back to Tsuna and bowed his head again with a slight blush. "And Tenth! My apologies for writing such an easily misunderstood letter!"

Tsuna blushed, thinking back to their conversation. "It's fine! I mean, it was kind of my fault as well… oof!" he exclaimed, feeling something land on his head.

"Good job Tsuna. You've gained your second subordinate. Gokudera decided to follow you because of your strength." Reborn said with the tiniest bit of pride to his voice.

Tsuna came closer to Reborn. "Wait, second subordinate?"

Akio made an outraged-looking face and rested his head on his hand.

"Tsuna… you wound me. Did you think I would let you embark on this great endeavor alone?"

"Ehhh! But – I don't want subordinates!" Tsuna turned to his newly gained follower. "Gokudera-kun, can't we just keep being regular classmates?"

The aforementioned immediately frowned and set a gaze of steel about him. "Absolutely not! I am determined to follow you to the ends of the Earth if need be!"

Tsuna made a troubled-looking face and groaned.

"Don't worry Tenth! I will do my best to support you as your right hand!" Gokudera reassured.

"Eh." Akio said in a teasing tone. "You've got a long way to go before becoming Tsuna's right hand man, Hayato."

"Even so, I won't lose to you Yoshida!"

"We'll see."

Reborn smirked at the antics of the family-in-the-making and Tsuna wished, not for the last time, that life wasn't so troublesome.

xXxXxXxxXx

OH MY GOD AN UPDATE! This is surely a dream!

Well, turns out it isn't! I have ACTUALLY managed to update this fanfiction. So, to my few readers, be assured, it isn't dead. Let me explain the circumstance surrounding this chapter then.

I originally set the deadline to Christmas Day when I resumed writing. Unfortunately, I only managed to have 80% done by then, and then I decided to set another mark to before the 29th, so I could at least have it out before New Year's. And well, here it is! Seeing as I'm leaving for a few days for New Year's, and am probably already out by the time you read this, I didn't send it to my second Beta Reader, even though my friend read it and gave me her honest opinion as always.

But to both of them thank you regardless! Especially my friend, who really helped out when I was finishing it.

I also thank all of my reviewers and people who read this story, and apologize for not putting this out earlier.

And to everyone, a Happy New Year and my best wishes for the future! Including that I may update more! :D


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